Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet

Hamlet is one the most studied and best beloved of Shakespeare's plays. It has been played upon the stage nearly constantly since 1600. It has also been reinterpreted constantly since that time. Kenneth Branagh's version is an uncut four-hour masterpiece of modern film.

Hamlet, still in mourning for his father, Hamlet Sr., stands perfectly still amidst the revelry and celebration of his mother's marriage to his uncle.

"Within a month,

Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears

Had left the flushing in her galled eyes,

She married--O most wicked speed: to post

With such dexterity to incestious sheets,

It is not, nor it cannot come to good,

But break my heart, for I must hold my tongue." (I.ii.153-159)

While feigning madness, Hamlet still manages to be witty and lace every word with double meanings. Shortly afterwards is the famous "To be" speech. The staircase in the above picture is in the large hall where Branagh staged the "To be" scene. He takes advantage of the mirrors lining both sides of the hall to add another layer of meaning to Hamlet's scene, as well as providing a new twist on Polonius and Claudius' eavesdropping. They spy on Hamlet through a two-way mirror; coincidently the same one Hamlet pushes Ophelia up against in the course of his interview with her.

Branagh chose to stage this play at Blenheim castle, which has stunning architecture. He used fake snow to create the winter atmosphere of Denmark.

Branagh also chose to set the play in the Victorian era, which gives an interesting twist to Ophelia's scenes:

She gets a straightjacket and a padded room, and spends a great deal of time on the floor.

For the final scene, Branagh took some liberties with the action (another joy of filmmaking) and had Laertes fall over the same bit of railing seen earlier. This helps to explain why Laertes, poisoned with the same blade as Hamlet, dies before him.

Claudius is killed even more dramatically than in the play. Hamlet, after hearing of Claudius' treachery, throws the poisoned sword across the hall (a good thirty feet), which stabs the fleeing king in the back. Hamlet then cuts down a chandelier, which smashes into Claudius. Only then does he pour the poisoned wine down Claudius' throat.

See a clip.

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